75.567 Acres

I am officially the (part) owner of 76 acres of beautiful Northern Idaho. Putting aside the little bit of panic instilled in me by watching my debt total jump a little bit, it is just too too wonderful. (And the debt thing? I know lots of people that have more student debt…and I have a house, a cabin, and LAND.)

I was grabbed by the obsessive research fairy yesterday night and spent hours feverishly researching “the Cooney group.” I’m beginning to believe that we have a very interesting and unique piece of land. As late as 1969, it’s ownership was labeled as “Cooney” in a sea of Day Mining, Inc. holdings. It is clearly recognizable as our property. (Our map obsession has lead to us being able to pick out groups of claims by their shape…this shape is ours.) As late as 2006, it is shown as a hole in Hecla’s subsurface rights empire (Hecla completed their purchase of the mineral rights approximately one month before our purchase so there will be no more picking out Fourth of July, Arlington, Nevada, and Mississippi on mining maps).

That somehow, among all the mining and the takeovers and the sale of claims somehow our four would remain the “Cooney group” is simply amazing to me. I became more than a little immersed in the history of the whole mining district last night. I feel there will be a kick ass coffee table book at the cabin someday.